Mushfiqur Rahim was well ahead in the race to be the ‘Player of the Month’ of ICC. Mushfiqur was nominated for the Sri Lanka Series for his consistency with the bat. However, in that series, Angelo Mathews spread the light with the bat for Sri Lanka. In the end, he won the ‘Player of the Month’ award.
In addition to Mushfiqur, Mathews’ opponent in the race to become the best was his home pacer Asitha Fernando. Bangladeshi batsmen have been knocked down by his bowling cannon. However, Mathews became the first Sri Lankan cricketer to win the award since it was launched in 2021, leaving behind Asitha and Mushfiqur.
Mathews has scored a century in both the Tests of the series against Bangladesh. Where he was out for 199 runs in an innings. Mathews scored a total of 344 runs in the two-match series. 303 runs came from the bat of his opponent Mushfiqur. He also scored two centuries in the series.
Asitha, another cricketer nominated for the ‘Player of the Month’, was the top wicket-taker in the series. He has taken a total of 13 wickets in two Tests. Meanwhile, Asitha took 10 wickets for the Tigers in the Dhaka Test. The pacer is only the second Sri Lankan bowler abroad to achieve this feat.
The ‘Player of the Month’ was chosen by a joint vote of the ICC’s voting academy and cricket supporters. The voting academy consists of senior sports journalists, former cricketers, and commentators. They voted by e-mail. On the other hand, registered supporters can vote on the ICC website.